


Summer Sun, Something's Begun

by AntarcticBird



Series: Three Weeks of Summer [2]
Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-10
Updated: 2013-02-10
Packaged: 2017-11-28 20:35:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/678632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AntarcticBird/pseuds/AntarcticBird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They haven't seen each other since their departure from the lake, but they had promised each other a date...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

“Just do it already.”

Blaine looks up from the phone he's been toying with for the past ten minutes, sighing loudly. “I'm going to, jeez. Just let me think for a second, okay?”

“Nope. You're done thinking. And moping. It's all you've been doing for a week now. Write the damn text already.”

“What if—”

“No.” Laura, his best friend since freshman year (and new roommate since they have finally turned their backs on dorm life and found a place off-campus), gives him a stern look. Shaking a strand of her long brown hair out of her face, she reaches across the kitchen table, snatching the phone from his hands. “If you won't do it, I'm going to do it for you!”

“Hey, no!” Blaine jumps up, trying to get his phone back. “I'm going to, I swear. I was just about to—”

“Liar.” She slides out of her chair, hurrying away from him, typing furiously on his phone.

“What are you writing? Stop that. Laura, I mean it, this is not even funny!” He races after her, tripping over his feet and almost colliding with the coffee table as she continues dancing around the furniture, years of dance lessons and her bat-like radar for obstacles putting her at a clear advantage.

“Don't worry, I'll let you read it,” she promises, and Blaine lets out a sigh of relief, cut short when she adds “After I sent it.”

“You can't—” he lunges for her, throwing himself over the back of the couch, his fingers finally getting a hold on the sleeve of her sweater. “Give me my damn phone!”

She sticks her tongue out at him and tries yanking her arm free, but by then Blaine has managed to scramble up onto his knees and reaches for her with both hands, tugging and bringing her down on top of him on the couch. She lets out a loud squeal, holding the phone up as high as she can, keeping it just out of his reach from where he's now pinned under her.

“Nice try, shorty,” she laughs, waving her arm in triumph.

“Oh, I'm not done yet,” he says, hands finding her ribs to start tickling.

About a minute later, he has his phone back and Laura is on the floor, gasping for breath and giggling. “Not fair,” she breathes, rolling over onto her back and pouting up at him. “I was just trying to help.”

“Sure, you were.” Blaine lets himself fall back into the couch cushions to have a look at the half-finished text Laura had typed out. “This isn't half-bad, actually.”

“See?”

“Except for the part where you misspelled his name.”

“Whatever.”

“Also, I'm not free on Friday, I have rehearsal.”

“Change it to Saturday, then.” Laura lets out an exasperated sigh. “Just get on with it. It's been more than two weeks since you got back. Ask him out already.”

“Don't you think Saturday is a bit... soon?” Blaine bites his bottom lip, thinking.

“It's not early enough, if you ask me. You've been so goddamn moody lately. I think you really need a good f—”

“Stop it right there.” Blaine holds up a hand to silence her. “Fine. I guess Saturday works, but not because of... that.”

“Aww.” Laura leans up, cupping his face between her hands. “You really like him, don't you? Little Blainey is in love!”

“Shut up,” he mumbles, finishing the text his roommate has started for him.

**

He's been very careful not to make any plans at all for Saturday so that he could use the entire time before his date to... prepare himself for his date. With Kurt. Smart, funny, breathtakingly beautiful Kurt who has been the very best thing about his summer so far and whom he hasn't seen in almost three weeks, not since their—thing, whatever it was—at the lake had ended. It had ended with both of them leaving their phone numbers for the other to find and there have been countless texts and a few phone calls since then, but still. He's nervous, there's no denying it. Despite the fact that they've kept in touch continuously, he just doesn’t know. The messages, the few calls... it's been flirty at first, sliding into a mere “friendly” soon enough as they've found less and less time to text each other, and now... he just _doesn't know_.

It had been a summer fling. It had been great and they'd had fun and now... he doesn’t have the faintest idea what they are. On that first night they'd been apart, after Kurt had left to visit his family in Ohio and Blaine had left for New York, they had texted back and forth a lot, and Kurt had seemed fine with the idea of Blaine taking him on a real date. But that was some time ago. What if Kurt has changed his mind about them? It's a possibility to be considered, after all.

So here Blaine is, bored out of his mind on a Saturday afternoon, nothing to do but worry about seeing Kurt and what it's going to be like. What _they_ are going to be like, as two people who have seen each other naked and then left without defining what it meant to them. Should he hug Kurt hello when he sees him? Pat him on the shoulder? Will they pick up where they left off or is this going to be awkward? _Oh god, this is going to be awkward, wasn't it?_

Going over their latest conversations again, he realizes how vague he has made everything sound without realizing he was doing it. With a frown, he scrolls back to the text Laura had made him send four days ago.

_Hey Kurt, since you said you were back in NY too, I'd love to see you again. I'm free Saturday. Want to meet up?_

Does that sound like he's asking him out? It doesn’t, does it? He's asking him to _hang out_. Maybe catch up or something stupid like that. Of course he wants to hang out with him, talk to him and everything, but... well, not just as friends. Does Kurt know that? He hopes that Kurt knows. He has to, after everything that has happened between them this summer, doesn’t he?

The only times they've talked about meeting up have been to agree on a time and place. The rest of it has been as playful and casual as ever, except for the time Rachel has commandeered Kurt's phone in order to say hi and tell him she's going to have a busy schedule next semester and the apartment she and Kurt share will be at their disposal a lot of the time. Kurt has apologized for her profusely and Blaine has laughed a lot.

Still, he wants to be very clear about why he wants to see Kurt tonight. Get it out in the open right now. He’d rather have his hopes crushed via text message, with some time left to adjust his expectations, than having it happen over dinner, sitting across from Kurt and making a complete fool of himself in the process. Gathering all of his courage, he writes a new text.

_I hope you know that I don't just want to “meet up” tonight. I'm planning to take you out on a date. I hope that's okay._

He only has to wait a few minutes for Kurt's reply.

_That's more than fine, because you actually promised me a date three weeks ago. Glad you remembered._

Blaine can't quite help the silly grin spreading across his face. Well then. That's one less thing to worry about. At least they're more or less on the same page here.

He paces the apartment for another half hour before writing back, not wanting to seem too eager and at the same time wanting to let Kurt know how much this means to him.

_Of course I remembered. I have been looking forward to it for quite some time now. Just making sure it's not going to be too awkward after all this time._

They'd spent three weeks together at the lake and been... whatever they were now... for half of the time they'd spent there. Meaning the time they have already spent apart now is longer than they have ever been... Well. He's hoping to have a word that fits them before the night is through.

He sighs, rearranging the things on the kitchen counter for the tenth time that day. Waiting is the worst. He should just ask Kurt to meet up earlier. Or maybe he should take another shower. Or clean the bathroom. Or...

“Your phone just buzzed,” Laura yells from the living room where she's watching TV in her sweat pants, which is her way of preparing for the new semester that's starting soon. “Is it weird that I know your text message sound better than my own?”

Blaine forces himself not to run, putting on his best expression of complete indifference while excitement bubbles through him as he walks over to the coffee table where he's left his phone. It probably isn't even from Kurt.

It is from Kurt.

_In the spirit of making this less awkward, I am hereby informing you that I have a plan to kiss you hello tonight. Since you were so adamant about this being a date, I hope you won't object to that._

“Good text?” Laura asks upon seeing the silly smile on his face.

He drops down onto the couch, leaning his head on her shoulder as he tries to calm the fluttering of his heart.

“Great text,” he says.


	2. I

Blaine can't remember the last time he's been this nervous. He's waiting for Kurt outside the tiny restaurant—it's not a fancy place, but the food is okay and the prices affordable for a college student who's already spent a majority of his savings on a summer holiday by the lake.

His palms are sweating and he rubs them dry on his dark jeans for the fifth time or so since he's arrived a few minutes earlier. Despite Kurt's last text he still isn't quite sure how the night is going to go. He's pretty sure he's planned it out as best he can, but still. This has to be perfect. For Kurt. Nothing else will do.

It's been a long time since Blaine has felt about anyone the way that he feels about Kurt and he really doesn't want to screw this up by being either too casual or by expecting too much and scaring Kurt away.

He knows he can come off as clingy, and he doesn't want that. He also knows that the easygoing, fun-loving side of himself often makes people think he isn't serious, and he doesn't want that either. He wants... Kurt. Simple as that. He wants him so much it scares him. They've known each other for only a few weeks, for crying out loud. He isn't used to wanting this much so early on. And yet he just... _knows_ that he's stumbled upon something great, something he doesn't want to let go off if he can help it at all.

Checking his reflection in the window again, he sighs audibly. There's only so much he's able to plan and organize. His outfit and overall appearance for tonight is something he knows he'll never be quite content with. Kurt basically only knows him in swim shorts—and the occasional jeans and t-shirt ensemble if it had been a cold night back at the lake cabins. He should have gone with a simple shirt instead of the red cardigan. Maybe he should have done something with his hair too. He's pretty sure that Kurt likes his curls, the way he'd carded his fingers through them, tugged on them lightly sometimes when they'd been curled up on the dock or at night on Blaine's bed—but they're so... all over the place. He wants to look nice for Kurt. He wants to impress him.

Laura had laughed at him when he'd voiced his concerns before leaving. “That boy has touched you places I don't even wanna hear about and seen you the morning after too. And he still agreed to go out with you. Now stop being stupid and go get him, Hobbit.” and with that, she had practically shoved him out the door, slamming it in his face.

And yes, Kurt has agreed to go out with him. _Kurt_. Has agreed. To go out _with him_. Oh god. Drying his clammy hands on his pants again, he straightens up, trying to breathe away the nerves. He can do this. He wants to.

“Hi.”

His heart does a tap dance in his chest upon hearing the familiar voice behind him. Of course he's been looking for Kurt in the wrong direction, allowing him to sneak up behind Blaine while he least expects it.

Suddenly, he doesn't even have to force the smile onto his face as a rush of happiness makes the worry fade into the background for a moment. Turning around, warmth floods through him as his fingers tingle and he feels himself blush. “Hi.”

Kurt's face looks slightly red as well, but his eyes are laughing, crinkling sightly at the corners. Blaine feels his breath hitch as he takes in the long, lean lines of his body, the smile on his face, the elegant way he holds himself. Holy _fuck_ Kurt is gorgeous. And he's here for _him_. Blaine doesn't know just what he's done right in his short years on this planet to give him this (he doesn't recall saving anyone from a burning building or inventing a cure for cancer at some point in his life, he hasn't even carried any old lady's shopping bags recently), but he doesn't even care. Doesn't want to question it. Not tonight. Kurt is here. Kurt is _here_ and that's all he knows right now. Everything else he'll figure out later. They have time. (He hopes.)

He realizes they've been staring at each other for what feels like about a minute and he's sure the grin on his face probably borders on demented by now. He quickly clears his throat and looks away, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. “I—” He breaks off, not quite sure what he wants to say. There's too much and none of it is entirely appropriate for their situation right now. But he's sure that blurting out _I missed you so much I couldn't sleep sometimes_ is probably the best way to make Kurt turn on his heels and leave him standing here like the pathetic, overexcited idiot he is. “We should—it's really good to see you.”

“It's good to see you too.”

“How's Rachel?” Blaine winces. He dosn't want to talk about Rachel. He wants to... He doesn't know what he wants. He wants too much. He wants _everything_ at once.

“She's... good. Busy. You know her.” Kurt laughs.

“Yes.” Clearing his throat again, he motions toward the door. “Shall we? Eat? Because that's why we're here. I mean, that's not _why_ , that's just what you do on a date, but maybe we should get on with it then so we can...” _What?_ Blaine shakes his head, mentally kicking himself. This is a really great time to start babbling incoherently.

“Oh, sure. We should probably...” Kurt waves a hand in the direction of the restaurant as well. “Sounds good.”

“Good,” Blaine repeats, standing rooted to the spot. Should he hold the door for Kurt? What is the etiquette for a first date with a guy he has already slept with?

Kurt laughs again and Blaine joins him this time. “This is awkward, isn't it?” He asks.

“Kind of,” Kurt agrees, then takes a deep breath. “I'm glad you asked me out, though. I'm... just... glad.” He shrugs helplessly, the little smile on his face making Blaine's knees wobbly.

“You're welcome,” he says lamely.

God, he just wants to reach out and touch Kurt already. Just have some sort of physical connection. So much of their... thing... by the lake had been physical, he thinks he needs it to remind himself of that closeness they had shared. He needs to _feel_ Kurt.

“Okay, then.” He puts on his best happy face and turns toward the door, thinking things are probably going to be easier once they're inside and seated. They have eaten together before. He knows how to talk to Kurt over dinner. He doesn’t know yet how to be around him on a sidewalk in New York City. He isn’t usually this bad at this either, _god_. “Let's go.”

“Blaine.” Kurt reaches for his shoulder, just as he's about to open the door. “One more thing.”

Blaine shivers at the touch, turning back toward Kurt who's standing much closer all of a sudden, close enough for Blaine to feel his body heat, to smell his cologne and the underlying scent of just Kurt, and Blaine feels lightheaded, dizzy with happiness and hope and longing. “Do you remember what I told you when you asked me out?” He blushes slightly, a hint on nervousness on his features.

Blaine nods weakly, heart beating double time. He simply can't find his voice.

“I said I was going to kiss you.”

“You did. Say that.” Oh, there's his voice. He just wishes it sounded stronger.

“Okay if I do that now? Before we go in?”

“Fine by me.” Blaine attempts a playful grin, but he isn't sure his body is obeying him right now. Kurt is standing so close to him.

“Okay,” Kurt breathes, placing both hands on Blaine's shoulders.

Blaine feels his arms lift without conscious thought, his own hands finding Kurt's hips and the simple touch seems to ground him, his body remembering how to be close to Kurt before his brain catches up to it. He's going to kiss him again. Finally.

He leans up as Kurt leans in, breath mingling in between them, and Blaine lets his eyes drift shut, overwhelmed by the moment. They're still in the middle of the sidewalk, cars going by and someone shouting at a cab driver in the distance. All of it fades away the instant Kurt's lips brush against his in a kiss so gentle, so sweet, it simply takes his breath away.

It's everything he remembers and much more. He presses his mouth against Kurt's more firmly, arms sliding around his waist the way they've done many times before as he feels Kurt's lips moving against his, soft and wet and perfect. And then there's a tongue caressing his bottom lip and he has to suppress a groan as his lips part willingly for Kurt, deepening the kiss as their tongues find each other, and _god_ , he's flying, falling, melting into Kurt in the middle of everyday life on a sidewalk in New York City.

There's such a sweet tenderness in the way Kurt kisses him slowly, for a moment Blaine isn't sure his poor little heart can take it. It's simply too good, too right, too everything he wanted this kiss to be.

They part too soon and Blaine keeps his eyes closed, his face still so close to Kurt's they're breathing each other's air, their bodies not quite touching but arms still around each other.

All the times he has kissed Kurt before, it's been amazing, but never like this. Their kisses tasted of summer and lake water and we-only-have-this-summer-so-let's-make-the-most-of-it.

This time, it's different. This time, they're back in their own lives, back where they are vulnerable when they open themselves up to each other, and they have done it anyway. They're here.

That has to mean something, right?

He leans in again, pressing another small, innocent kiss to the corner of Kurt's mouth, feeling him smile against his lips.

“Hey,” Kurt breathes.

“Hey,” Blaine breathes back, touching his nose to Kurt's. “Ready to go in now?”

“Ready when you are.” Kurt's fingers brush through the soft hair at the back of Blaine’s neck before he draws back, hand sliding down Blaine's arm until he finds his hand and tangles their fingers together.

“I've been ready for weeks,” Blaine replies, his palm tingling where it's touching Kurt's.

“You say the cheesiest things sometimes.” Kurt squeezes his hand, grinning but looking quite pleased, actually.

Blaine counts it as a win.


	3. II

They're lucky enough to get a table in a more or less secluded corner of the small restaurant where no one has to walk past to get to the restrooms or the door. Just the way that Blaine hoped they would. It's been so long since he and Kurt have been together and he doesn't want any distractions or interruptions.

They have ordered already and fallen into easy conversation while waiting for their food, and Blaine is doing his best to be funny so that Kurt will laugh. He's in love with Kurt's laugh, the way his eyes light up and how his whole face looks happy. He has known Kurt long enough to know what amuses him, but not quite long enough to have him figured out completely. It's exciting, discovering Kurt, getting to know every side of him. Blaine knows he won't be done with that for a long time.

Kurt is just wiping his eyes after laughing at one of Blaine's bad jokes, his hands falling back onto the table between them as he hiccups and lets out a long breath.

“God, you're ridiculous,” he says, a fondness in his voice that makes Blaine's face heat up.

He only thinks about it for a second before reaching forward to cover Kurt's hand with his own. He likes Kurt's hands as much as he likes his laugh. He’d never known he has a thing for hands before, but Kurt’s are strong yet soft, and they fit into his in a way that's almost too much.

Kurt casts down his eyes for a second and bites his lip as he blushes a little before turning his hand and intertwining their fingers.

Blaine likes that about him too—Kurt can be the one to initiate their kiss outside the restaurant, he can be brave and spontaneous and daring, judging from everything they have done back at the lake each night after Rachel had gone to bed, yet the simple act of hand-holding is enough to make him blush sometimes.

“This is really nice,” he says in a small voice.

Blaine only nods in agreement, debating whether or not it's a good idea to kiss him right now. He would be perfectly fine with forgetting about the food and the entire date thing and just find a quiet corner somewhere and keep kissing Kurt all night long.

“I don't know if I have said it yet,” Blaine starts, “but that morning after we both left—I was so glad when I found your little note in my pocket,” he confesses. “I was—I really wanted to see you again.”

“You have no idea how happy I was when I found yours,” Kurt replies. “And how obnoxious Rachel was about it with all of her I-told-you-so.” He rolls his eyes.

“I was afraid I was being totally creepy.” Blaine laughs, squeezing Kurt's hand for a second. “But then I thought to myself, hey, if I don't do it I'm never gonna see him again, and if I do, there's at least a small chance, so go for it.”

“Same. I was debating destroying the damn thing, but then you came out of the bathroom and I had no choice but to leave it.” Kurt squeezes his hand back, grinning, his expression going soft as he meets Blaine's eyes. “Although, I have to add, your chances were never small to begin with.”

Blaine just sits there for a moment, opening and closing his mouth, but he's buzzing with so much happiness the words just won't come out. “Who's being cheesy now?” he finally manages, the best he can come up with.

“Oh, shut up.” Kurt sinks back into his chair. “Just letting you know how you sound sometimes. It's ridiculous, really.”

“I agree.” Blaine nods. “Clearly, we're a bad influence on each other.”

The food arrives and Kurt lets go of his hand. Blaine misses the feel of it instantly. But he guesses they will indeed need both of their hands if they don't want to spill steak sauce all over themselves.

Kurt does most of the talking during dinner—because he's graceful as fuck and can eat and talk at the same time without looking ridiculous (even when he blushes about dripping ketchup down his chin, even that is graceful) while Blaine is sure he'd just spew his dinner all over the table cloth or reveal bits of food that are stuck in his teeth if he even attempted it. And he likes listening to Kurt. That's another thing about Kurt he likes a whole lot—his voice. It's soothing and melodic and he can't get enough of it. God, he thinks, looking at Kurt who's cutting his meat while telling him about the extra voice lessons he wants to sign up for next semester, he just likes everything about Kurt. He's known him for a few weeks and he's already crazy about this man. He knows Laura had only been teasing him when she'd said it, but she'd hit amazingly close to the truth: this is what falling in love feels like, isn't it?

Blaine quickly looks down on his plate, hiding his face in case his eyes gave him away. It's too soon for declarations. He doesn't even know if he's quite there yet himself. All he knows is that he'd be a fucking idiot to ever let Kurt get away. He had gone to the lake to recover from a hell of a semester during which he had worked two jobs while taking on a shitload of classes, he had gone there to get away from everything. Instead, he's found something. Something to make everything in his life just that much brighter and better. It's crazy. Maybe it is true that the things you need have a way of showing up when you least expect them.

He hadn't expected Kurt. He could never have expected someone like Kurt.

“Blaine?” Kurt sounds concerned. “You still with me?”

“What? Yes! Sorry.” Blaine laughs, looking up into the eyes of this wonderful person sitting across from him. “I'm... fine. I'm great, actually.”

“Good.” Kurt hooks an ankle around Blaine's under the table, smiling. “You looked a little far away for a moment there.”

“Sorry about that.” Blaine sees that Kurt's plate is as good as empty and most of his own food is gone as well. “Do you want to get out of here? There's this beautiful little park just a few blocks from here and it's still warm out, I thought we could—”

“Sounds perfect,” Kurt agrees, and Blaine waves for the waitress.

They end up having a small argument over who should pay (“I invited you, so I'm paying, end of discussion.” “Just let me pay my share, Blaine, and we can be out of here, god, you can be so stubborn!”) but Blaine wins in the end, after Kurt has made him promise to let him pay next time, at least. (Next time! Blaine has to suppress a squeal at the thought.)

Blaine's amazed to find that as he walks next to Kurt, joined hands swinging in between them, it feels like they have parted only yesterday. It's all so _easy_. So comfortable.

It's getting late by now and while the small park is by no means empty, it's easy enough to find an empty bench underneath a large maple tree where they sit down, close enough to one another that their shoulders are pressed together.

“So how do you know this place?” Kurt asks, playing with Blaine's fingers in his lap.

“I actually don't live too far from here,” Blaine explains. “I like it here—I come here sometimes to read, or to run, or... just because I like it here.”

“Brought a lot of dates here, then?” Kurt's tone is teasing, but Blaine doesn't miss the underlying curiosity, the carefulness.

“I... no, actually.” Blaine sits up straighter, thinking about his answer for a second. “I haven't... I haven't dated much since I came here, actually.”

“Oh?” Kurt tightens his grip on Blaine's hand as if he's afraid he'll withdraw it and turns his upper body so he can look at him.

“No. It's not that...” Blaine sighs. “It's... my last real boyfriend... We knew each other from Ohio. We went to the same school. Well... he transferred to my school when I was a senior. And I went to New York for him, actually, we had been together for a year by then. It didn't last long after that.” He shakes his head, memories of his first months in New York flooding back.

“What happened?” Kurt's thumb has started drawing soothing patterns onto the back of his hand and Blaine relaxes his shoulders. He hadn't even realized how tense he's become. He doesn't like thinking about Sebastian and how naïve he had been back then. “I mean, you don't have to tell me, obviously, if you don't want to, but...”

“It's okay.” Blaine rests his head on Kurt's shoulder. He doesn't feel bitter about it anymore. He has something much better now. Or so he hopes. “He was... well, he was my first boyfriend. At the time, I thought I was in love with him.”

“But you weren't?”

Blaine shakes his head, sighing. “He was... the first to really see me, you know? He complimented me, told me I was sexy and talented and he was... adventurous. You know I went to Dalton?”

He waits for Kurt to nod before he continues. “I loved that school, but it was very strict. Uniforms, rules... Sebastian was like a counterpart to that safe little world. We would sneak out to gay bars and drink, he even got me a fake ID.” Blaine laughs. “I felt... it was like a side of me I hadn't even known existed up until then. It was exciting. Dangerous.”

“And when you came to New York?” Kurt asks.

“At first, nothing changed,” Blaine explains. “We lived in separate dorms and I had to find a job to help me through college—a lot of what my parents had saved up for me went into Dalton—and Sebastian didn't like the fact that I had less time for him. I think I was starting to be too boring for him even before we left Ohio. I knew he was going to dump me sooner or later, and I knew he was already sleeping around before he dumped me. I couldn't bring myself to do it, though, I knew he was shallow and not good for me, but I...” Rubbing his free hand across his face, he sighs again. “I didn't want to hurt him.”

“Oh, Blaine.” Kurt lets go of his hand to put his arm around his shoulder, drawing him closer. “Only you could stay with someone who was cheating on you because you didn't want to hurt his feelings.”

Blaine shrugs, slipping an arm around Kurt's waist and pressing even closer to him. “After that... I just set a higher bar for myself, you know? I went on dates, I went out with this guy, Michael, for about three months, but I never met anyone I wanted to stay with.” _Until now_ , he adds in his head. _Until you sat on that dock on a sunny afternoon in the middle of nowhere and changed everything_. He can't say it, not yet, but he thinks Kurt understands, the way he cups Blaine’s face and tilts up his head to kiss him softly.

“Let's talk about nicer things,” Blaine suggests. “Tell me more about your visit home. Tell me about your family. You've only hinted at what you're stepbrother is like in your texts... what was his name again?”

“Finn,” Kurt supplies, grinning.

“Finn. Right. But it sounded hilarious. Tell me more about him. And your dad. He must be an awesome guy.”

“He is,” Kurt confirms, and goes on to tell him about his father, his stepmother who already sounds like someone Blaine wants to know ( _don't get ahead of yourself!_ ) and his stepbrother, who, apparently, also knows Rachel quite well.

They stay in the park until it becomes too chilly to stay any longer, and Blaine feels a sudden surge of sadness at having to say goodbye to Kurt again so soon. At the lake, they had spent every minute of every day together, and this just feels... inadequate, after what they're used to.

Aware of the fact that he might be pushing his luck, he stops Kurt as they're about to exit the park and tries not to blush as he prepares himself for rejection.

“I actually really just live a few blocks from here and my roommate is out on a date with her boyfriend tonight. You can say no, of course, but I'd like to talk with you more and I have, like, an unopened bottle of wine somewhere and... would you maybe like to...”

“Yes,” Kurt cuts him off. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Blaine feels like bouncing up and down in his excitement, but decides against it quickly. Kurt has agreed to come home with him. Now is not the time to start behaving like a five-year-old at Disney World.

“I'd love to,” Kurt says, and he smiles warmly as Blaine takes his hand again, leading them down the street in the direction of his tiny apartment. He just hopes that Laura has cleared away the remains of her microwaved dinner and the dirty clothes on the bathroom floor before she headed out for the night.

Kurt's agreed to a date and now he's coming home with him. Not that Blaine really expects them to... do anything. But there's definitely a chance of it and probably more of one if the apartment doesn't look like it's recently been raided.

He doesn't care whether they're going to end up in bed together or play chess all night long, he's getting more time with Kurt. That's all he's been hoping for.


	4. III

To Blaine's relief, Laura has managed to remove her dirty laundry from the bathroom floor and has even dumped the remains of her dinner into the kitchen sink before she left. Quickly closing the door to her room, which looks like a wardrobe threw up all over the place, he turns back to Kurt, who's standing in the middle of the small living room, looking somewhere between excited and uncomfortable.

“So.” He runs a nervous hand through his curls, motioning the other around the small space. “Welcome. Make yourself at home.”

Kurt smiles, taking off his light summer jacket to hang it up, his shoes joining Blaine’s by the front door. Blaine tries to calm his giddiness at the sight of Kurt's things next to his. He likes that. Quite a lot, actually. More than is probably appropriate for a first real date, he thinks.

“I like your place,” Kurt comments, taking a look around as he walks over to the couch to sit down. “So is it just you and your roommate here?”

“Just me and Laura, yes,” Blaine confirms. “We just... we're both so busy all the time and dorms can be exhausting, so we started looking for something at the end of last semester. And this place... it's a shoe box and not as close to campus as we would have liked, but it's ours and it's nice.”

“It is.”

“Wine?” Blaine asks, making his way to the tiny kitchen. “It's probably not very good, but—”

“Wine would be great, thanks,” Kurt says. “Was she the friend who failed to come to the lake with you?”

“Oh.” Blaine has to stretch up to get the bottle from the top shelf. He just hopes it isn't too disgusting. It had been cheap enough. “No. That was my friend Nick. We were in the Warblers together. We had planned to catch up over the summer—he goes to college in Chicago—but he got back together with his girlfriend at the last second and canceled on me.”

“Well, that sucks.”

“Yeah, well. He offered to come anyway, but he'd been in a pretty bad place when they broke up and he was so happy, I pretty much told him to just stay with her instead.”

He finds the bottle opener and sets to work, startling when Kurt speaks up from behind him all of a sudden, leaning against the doorjamb. “Are you always this... nice? To everyone?”

Blaine shrugs, grinning sheepishly. “No, I'm not. I just... I don't know. I can work on being more of a jerk, if you want me to, though,” he offers, wiggling his eyebrows at Kurt.

“No, don't. I like you this way.” Kurt blushes at his own words, looking down for a second before he pushes off the door, straightening his back. “Okay. Wine. Where do you keep the glasses?”

Blaine, who's almost won his fight with the bottle opener, indicates the right cupboard with a wave of his head. “Second door.”

Kurt goes to get wineglasses, his shirt riding up to expose a strip of pale skin as he leans up to reach them (he’s lost some of the tan he’d acquired at the lake already, Blaine notices, even tough _he isn’t looking, of course not, it's just a tiny kitchen and it's impossible not to notice_ ), and they both go back to the couch once the bottle is successfully opened.

It not as if they had trouble communicating before, but the wine loosens them up some more and soon enough they're giggling, interrupting each other as they go over their favorite memories of their time at the lake.

“Your face, though, when Rachel pushed you in,” Blaine laughs. “Oh god, that was priceless.”

“I was still fully dressed,” Kurt exclaims. “And I was planning to get in the lake at some point, you both just wouldn't listen... You could have defended me, by the way!”

“You pulled me in after you when I offered you my hand to help you out!” Blaine complains. “I was trying to help you.”

“I was already in the lake with my clothes on, how much help did you think I needed at that point?” Kurt takes another sip of his almost empty glass, leaning back against the couch cushions. “Your face was pretty priceless too, though.”

“My face is always priceless. I get lots of compliments for it.”

“Really?” Kurt scrunches up his nose in disbelief. “Your eyebrows are too big, though.”

“Your hair is too high.”

“Yours is too curly.”

“You have freckles.”

“Ouch.” Kurt holds up a hand. “That was a low blow, Anderson.”

“I'm sorry.” Blaine leans forward, kissing Kurt lightly on the lips. “I'll have you know that I like your freckled face very much.”

“It's okay.” Kurt cups his cheek and kisses him back. “I like your ridiculous eyebrows.”

“Just my eyebrows?” Blaine pouts.

“Your hair too.”

“I complimented your entire face!”

“Well.” Kurt sets down his glass, giving him a challenging grin. “I'm flawless. Face it.”

“You're wonderful,” Blaine says, and just like that, the mood shifts from playful to... something else.

They keep staring at each other for a few seconds, the air between them heavy with something, something Blaine knows neither of them is entirely ready for. Finally, Kurt clears his throat and looks away.

“It's... late. I should probably get going.”

“Oh. Okay.” Blaine does his best not to let his disappointment show. He really wanted Kurt to stay.

“I'm... how do I get back to my apartment from here?” Kurt asks, looking puzzled for just a second.

“You could...” Blaine gathers all of his courage, playing with the edges of the blanket that's hanging over the back of the couch to pretend this isn’t a big deal at all. “You could just stay over. If you want. It's late and this isn't the best neighborhood, exactly. Laura won't mind, she won't even be back before noon tomorrow. So...”

Kurt swallows, seeming to think about it for a moment. “...Okay,” he finally says. “If it's really all right with you.”

“Of course it is, that's why I offered,” Blaine hurries to tell him.

“Okay,” Kurt agrees, leaning in to kiss Blaine again. “Then I'll stay.”

Blaine finds him a fresh toothbrush and a clean pair of pajamas while Kurt texts Rachel to let her know he won't be home that night, and they brush their teeth side by side in the small bathroom. It feels so oddly familiar to Blaine, he can barely contain his happiness. This is what he has missed over the past few weeks. This is the lake all over again, the easy connection between them.

“You can have the bed,” Blaine tells him after they're done. “I'll sleep on the couch.”

“Don't be silly. It's your apartment. If anyone takes the couch, it should be me. Or...” Kurt shrugs before he continues, downplaying the moment. “You know... it's not like we haven't shared a bed before...”

Blaine can't help the way his entire face lights up at Kurt's words. He doesn't want to seem overexcited and give the impression that this is why he’d wanted Kurt to stay. And, in truth, it isn’t the only reason. He genuinely doesn’t want Kurt to leave just yet. They haven’t seen each other in three weeks and it doesn’t even matter that they've only known each other for twice that long, he's missed him. A lot. And if Blaine has learned one thing over the summer, it's that he never sleeps as well as when Kurt is right there next to him.

“I guess that might work,” he answers nonchalantly, taking Kurt's hand and leading him into his room.

Blaine turns off the lights while Kurt slides under the covers, joining him a moment later. They come to rest on their sides, facing each other.

It's Kurt who closes the distance between them first, capturing Blaine's lips in a kiss that tastes like toothpaste and memories of summer nights. Blaine sighs into it, tilting his head to give Kurt better access, their bodies shuffling closer together until they're tangled up in each other. Just the way they had been back then, so many times, not enough nights, never enough.

Blaine feels his heart hammering away in his chest as Kurt rolls him onto his back, moving until he's covering him with his whole body, nuzzling his face against Blaine’s neck.

It starts out slow, almost tentative, gentle touches and slow kisses, both of them testing how far the other is willing to go. And, Blaine thinks, he's gonna be okay with it if it ends there, if Kurt decides the next second that he’d rather go to sleep and cuddle all night. But Kurt doesn’t stop, instead keeps kissing him, touching him, and Blaine wraps his arms around him and breathes in deep, filling his lungs with the scent of Kurt’s skin that he hasn’t been able to forget since the day they parted.

He's growing hard quickly and almost groans with relief when Kurt shifts on top of him and he can feel him pressed against his hip, just as hard, just as affected by all of this as Blaine is.

“This okay?”

Blaine nods, hands fisting in the back of Kurt's pajama top. “God, yes!”

He tries holding back, tries letting Kurt set the pace, taking off their clothes piece by piece, hands roaming over exposed skin, rediscovering what they already know. But when Kurt slides between his legs, their naked erections pressing together _finally_ , he can't wait anymore.

He rolls his hips up as Kurt rocks down and they both moan, jolts of pleasure running up Blaine's spine at the welcome friction.

It's a little dry, a little fast, but Blaine doesn't care, he just _wants_ , and Kurt seems to be in a similar place, judging from the desperate, jerky movements of his hips against Blaine's, the way he kisses him too sloppily, holds onto him too hard.

“Kurt,” Blaine gasps, “Kurt, Kurt, Kurt...” He never wants this to end and yet he needs to come so desperately. “Oh fuck, oh god...”

“Blaine.” Kurt's voice is breathy, trembling with want as he sets a frantic pace, grinding himself down against Blaine again and again.

A broken moan escapes Kurt's throat as Blaine's hands find his ass, pressing him down harder, and Blaine feels him come, spilling between their bodies, open mouth pressing against Blaine’s shoulder.

It's all Blaine needs, and with a few last shaky thrusts upwards he follows Kurt seconds later, his body shaking as he comes harder than he has in weeks. His body is trembling with the force of it and he throws his head back, sharp pleasure shooting through his body as Kurt still holds him, keeps moving his hips in tiny circles to ride out the last waves of it.

**

Blaine stays awake even after Kurt has fallen asleep, trying to hang on to this moment for as long as he can.

The room is dark and quiet, the only noises their breathing and the faint sounds of cars outside the window. And he feels... content. Even asleep, Kurt still has his arms firmly around him, holding him close, Blaine’s head resting against Kurt's chest and he can hear Kurt’s heart beating under his ear.

As far as first dates go, he thinks this one has been pretty amazing. He hopes they'll have the chance to do it all over again at some point. All of it. Soon. The talking over dinner and the hand-holding and the sex, yes, that too. Kurt is still summer sun and lazy afternoons and the taste of lake water on chapped lips, but he's beginning to be so much more to him as well.

Summer might be ending soon, but Blaine hopes (wishes, is starting to believe) that what they've found will last much longer than that.

Falling asleep in Kurt's arms after their first date back in their own lives doesn't just feel like the end of a great date. It feels like a beginning of so much more.


End file.
